It was January 1997, just few months after I had finished my Master at Goldsmiths when I had the chance to do an internship at Magnum Photos. For a period of 7 weeks I worked at London´s office everyday during normal working hours. My tasks while there were various but to begin with, I was mainly in charge of tea and coffee making facilities and doing photocopies of the magazines and articles featuring Magnum´s photographs. Occasionally I would popped in to the Lab where all the printing was being done. At the end of the day I usually stayed longer so I could look into the archive and see all the photographs I had known for years.
There for the first time I saw the original prints that Koudelka himself had done of his work of Prague 68. I remember myself fascinate, looking at them scrutinizing every detail of those photographs, observing the composition, the contrast, the way they had been all printed in fiber base chloro bromide paper.
One Monday I was asked to do photocopies. 7 hours a day of photocopies can be very alienating and often I wondered what the hell I was doing wasting my time in Magnum, not even getting paid. I kept on telling myself tat it was a unique experience and it the long term it would be worth my time. Luckily the photocopy exile lasted only for a week and soon I was sent back to the archive, filing the returned photographs and putting together new orders to go out.
One day there was a sudden sense of excitement around the office. Josef Koudelka had arrived and everybody went out to greet him with affection. He was by far the most appreciated by all members of staff and in return, he was very affectionate and friendly to everyone. He came to me and said: "Hi I´m Josef " shaking my hand. I am Iñigo I said.
We had a long chat talking about Spain, the Basque country, his passion for the country and its women whom he regard as very beautiful. He had a bottle of vodka an offer me a shot. But as It was quite early in the morning I politely declined. As he drank his glass he explained how in his childhood Vodka was the cure for everything. Whether tooth ache or a twisted ankle, in Checoslovaquia Vodka was used as the remedy for all illnesses and pains. He laughed loudly!
Two years ago I went to Prague. My mother was there with a friend and invited me to join them there for a long weekend. On a miserable rainy morning I went looking for books and I suddenly saw Invasion 68 by Josef Koudelka. The book commemorating 40 years of the soviet invasion. I could not believe it I was in Prague and there I had the book with the entire collection of photographs that 9 years earlier I had had in my hands. My only disappointment was that the texts were in Chech and therefore to the day I haven´t been able to understand a single word of it. But I could not care less. It was the book by Koudelka and I was in Prague, on the spring of 2008, exactly in the very same avenue where 40 years earlier those images have been taken.
I saw Josef Kouldelka 7 months later in Paris Photo. As I was getting in he was leaving as he told me, horrified about the whole merchandise of the fair which disgusted him.
Though vaguely he did remember me and we had a quick friendly chat. I gave him a my card and invited to stay at my place next time he happens to be in Barcelona. He is well known to be quite capable of spending months at a house where he was meant to stay just over night. But I don´t think I would mind.
